District Attorney Stan Garnett will dismiss all pending criminal cases of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, saying the overwhelming support for Amendment 64 in Boulder County makes it highly unlikely a jury would ever reach a guilty verdict in any of those cases.

"You've seen an end to mere possession cases in Boulder County under my office," Garnett said Wednesday, becoming the first Colorado district attorney to drop pot cases because Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 earlier this month.

As a result of the announcement, police officials across Boulder County also stated they will no longer issue marijuana-possession citations in light of Amendment 64. The constitutional amendment will legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in Colorado for those 21 or older.

"We will not be issuing any summonses for the offenses cited by the Boulder DA," Boulder police Chief Mark Beckner said Wednesday. "We had already told our officers it was a waste of time to issue summonses for those offenses anyway, given the passage of the amendment."

Garnett said marijuana paraphernalia charges also will be dropped in cases where it is clear the items were intended solely for marijuana use.

"It was an ethical decision," Garnett said. "The standard for beginning or continuing criminal prosecution is whether a prosecutor has reasonable belief they can get a unanimous conviction by a jury. Given Amendment 64 passed by a more than 2-to-1 margin (in Boulder County), we concluded that it would be inappropriate for us to continue to prosecute simple possession of marijuana less than an ounce and paraphernalia for those over 21."

While Amendment 64 will not go into effect until 30 days after the vote is approved -- most likely some time in January -- Garnett said the voting numbers for Boulder County convinced him to drop the cases now.

Unofficial results from the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office indicate 66 percent of Boulder County voted in favor of the amendment.

Garnett the decision actually will have little impact since he has made possession of marijuana a low priority since he came into office in 2009. He said his office typically handles only five to 20 cases of mere possession or paraphernalia a month, so he was surprised at the amount of attention his decision received after being announced Wednesday morning.

"It's really not a major decision as far as the resources of the 20th Judicial District," he said.

'Not worth our time'

Cmdr. Rick Brough of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said Sheriff Joe Pelle, like Boulder's chief, issued an order to his department shortly after the election, telling deputies that issuing citations for mere possession was "probably not worth our time."

University of Colorado police previously had said they would enforce the law until it was enacted, but spokesman Ryan Huff on Wednesday said the department now has decided not to ticket those over 21 for mere possession.

"Given the stance of the District Attorney's Office and the fact that it will be legal soon, we have decided not to issue tickets for simple possession to those over 21," Huff said.

Longmont police also will not be writing tickets, but unlike Boulder -- which does not have a municipal law concerning possession of marijuana -- possession of marijuana is still a municipal crime in Longmont.

"We are not going to be enforcing any law that is contrary to what Amendment 64 says, so we will not be charging or summonsing people 21 and over for possession of less than an ounce," Longmont Public Safety Chief Mike Butler said.

Butler said the city attorney is working on an ordinance to present before the Longmont City Council that would ensure the city's municipal code is in line with the new law. Currently, Longmont's municipal code states that it is illegal for someone to possess or consume marijuana. The court can punish offenders with a $100 fine, 15 days in jail or both.

"All I'll say is the people in the state of Colorado have voted, and it is now the law of the state," Butler said. "The police department will be compliant with the law of the state."

The first of many?

Garnett is the first DA in Colorado to drop pot cases in the wake of Amendment 64's passage, but backers of the measure hope other prosecutors will follow suit.

"A strong majority of Coloradans made it clear that they do not believe adults should be made criminals for possessing small amounts of marijuana," said Mason Tvert, a proponent of Amendment 64, said in a statement. "Colorado prosecutors can follow the will of the voters by dropping these cases today and announcing they are no longer taking on new ones.

"We applaud District Attorney Garnett for respecting the will of the voters, and we hope his colleagues across the state will follow his lead."

Garnett said he has not talked to other DAs in Colorado about his decision, but anticipates some may make similar rulings.

"They know my views on marijuana," Garnett said. "They still represent different districts and they will have to make their own decisions."

Garnett said his office will direct its resources to prosecuting more serious offenses.

"What's been made clear is that the community does not think that mere possession of marijuana should be prosecuted criminally," Garnett said. "We have enough serious crimes in Boulder County, and we will focus on those."

But Garnett said his office will continue to prosecute cases of possession by those under 21 and in instances where dealing is suspected, as well as any DUI offenses involving marijuana.

"Those continue to be a real high priority," Garnett said. "We will continue to come after those cases very hard."

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